Cinderhelga
by iKarexx
Summary: With Arnold's party kicking off, and Helga stuck at work, can this "not-so Cinderella" dance her way to her prince Charming?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Arnold looked across the table to him family sitting in front of him. Everyone was sitting there, watching him. Arnold had no idea why they were looking at him that way. All he had done was sit in his chair, and all eyes were on him. The first to speak was his mother Stella. "Arnold we have a very exciting announcement for you."

"What is it Mom?" Arnold asked her quickly, he couldn't take the looks anymore.

They all smiled at each other just waiting for the news. Arnold couldn't feel more worried. "Well," Stella began. "Sweetie, since your eighteenth birthday is coming up, we decided to throw you a huge party."

Before he knew it the boarders and his parents were shouting out their ideas for the party.

"We should have a poker party!"

"I say bowling!"

"I will make tacos, Arnold!"

"Stella and I can make your decorations."

"I don't want too much riffraff in this house Shortman!"

"Oh I can't wait for the circus!"

"Stop!" Arnold shouted as loud as he could in order to be heard. Everyone was going off in their own world for this party, but Arnold didn't even know what to do. "Let me get this straight. You guys want to throw me a party?"

"Yes!" They all yelled.

"Look guys, I really appreciate this, but you really don't have to go through all that trouble for me."

"Don't be silly Arnold," Miles said. "You're turning eighteen, that only happens once."

"Yeah, but a party?"

"Oh sure!" Stella said. "We can have a dance party."

"Or a poker party," Mr Kokoshka suggested.

"How about a nice pool party?" said Susie.

"A costume party," Grandpa Phil said. "We need to have a costume party."

All eyes were on Phil now, the idea seemed great to everyone. Arnold guessed it would be a good idea, people usually liked his parties. "I kinda like that Grandpa."

"We'll invite everyone Shortman."

"Everyone?"

* * *

"And when you're done dusting you can scrub the floors. I want this place to sparkle!" Big Bob Pataki was not in a very good mood today. It was that time of the month; bills. It seemed like every time Bob had to write checks out to companies he died a little inside. To handle his rage, he took it out on his employees: Patty, Lila, Phoebe, and even his daughter, Helga Pataki. Even though she was the assistant manager, her father always treated her the way he did with the rest of them. The girls were used to Bob's attitude, besides, he paid them too well to quit. They went off to pick up their duster as soon as possible, they knew better than to keep Bob waiting.

"I hate bill day," Patty complained as soon as Bob was out of sight. She pulled out a hair tie out of her pocket to pull her brown hair back.

"Especially with a blowhard like Bob," Helga added. "I swear he makes my life hell."

"I don't know how you handle it Helga," Lila said. "I'm ever so certain I wouldn't be able to deal with a dad like that. You inspire me."

"Yeah yeah, Toots. Just get cleaning already before he gets back, I don't want no problems. Patty, get the Androids. Phoebe, you get the chargers. Lila, the iPhones. I'll take the counters. Go."

The girls were off to dust "Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium". Now that beepers were out of style, Bob moved on to cellphones (even though he still had his own beeper).

Just then a soft bell echoed in the door, signaling a customer at the door. Helga wasn't assigned for sales today, that was Lila and Phoebe's job, so she kept cleaning.

"Welcome to Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium, how may I help you?" Phoebe's sweet voice asked.

"Do you really have to do that every time we come through the door?" Gerald's familiar voice said.

At the sound of his voice Helga froze. She knew that ever time that Gerald came to the store, Arnold would be right behind him. With that Helga quickly ducked behind the counter in front of the chargers. Just the thought of seeing Arnold terrified her. Since the day Helga told Arnold she loved him in the fti building seeing him killed her. Arnold hadn't felt the same way about Helga, and frankly he never will. Helga knew it was a mistake telling him, and she lived with that mistake every day of her life. Now she was back to her old habit: teasing him.

"It's my job Gerald. What can I do for you two?"

"We just came over to bring you girls these invitations."

"My parents and the borders are throwing me a costume party for my birthday, and I'm inviting everyone. I hope you girls can come."

_Oh Arnold, your angelic voice doth glisten my soul with magic._ Helga knew she had to stop her obsession for Arnold, but still she longed for his affection.

"Maybe, if Mr Pataki is kind enough to grant us a day off," Lila said.

"We'll I hope to see you all there. All of you."

Helga smiled at the thought of going to Arnold's party. It had been a long time since she had gone to the boarding house. Of course, she could never go, she could never get the guts to do that. Out of instinct, Helga grabbed her golden locket out of her pocket. With the years, Arnold's picture in the locket changed. Now his 12th grade yearbook picture was staring back at her. "Oh Arnold, why must I be so prolific adoring you, yet so idle to confront you? Oh why can't I tell you how I feel? Every minute feels like an hour, and every hour like a day when I'm not with you. Oh if only-"

"Helga?" Arnold's voice asked above her. He was standing at the counter, looking right down at her. She quickly hid her locket before he could see. "Who are you talking to?"

"No one Football-head. I was just...reading some bills, that's all." Before Helga could think of another lie, she stood up from the floor. Arnold was looking at her curiously. "What are you gonna buy something or are you just gonna stand there Arnoldo? I've got a business to run here."

"I actually needed a new charger for my Android, think you can help me out?"

Helga rolled her eyes, trying to keep her tough girl attitude, when really she was trilled. "I'm not on sales today, go ask Lila."

He smiled slyly. "Just get me a charger Helga. I want _you_ to get it, unless you want me to tell your dad about your service."

"Are _you_ blackmailing _me_ Bucko?"

"Yeah."

Helga frowned, she turned behind her to the wall of chargers and grabbed one of the Android chargers. Helga knew exactly which phone Arnold had, she remembered the dreadful yet magical day she sold it to him. When she turned around Arnold was smiling in delight. "That'll be a million bucks."

"How about thirty?"

Helga threw the charger in a small plastic bag and placed the receipt inside. "I'll give it to you for twenty-five if you get out of my store in less than a minute."

"No deal." He handed her three ten dollar bills, brushing her fingers lightly. "I'm having a costume party next Saturday, will you to come?"

"Yeah right, like I would ever go to a shitty football-head party of yours. I'd rather count my own hair follicles than be stuck at your stupid party. There ain't no way you'll catch Helga G Pataki at no costume party, now get out. I need to dust."

Arnold rolled his radiant green eyes and turned to the door with Gerald. Once again Helga blew it.

"HELGA!" Phoebe and Lila yelled once Arnold and Gerald were out of sight. The two ran toward her instantly.

"How could you say that?" Phoebe said.

"Helga I'm ever so certain it sounded like Arnold was well, I suppose he was flirting with you."

Helga shushed them automatically. Sure Phoebe and Lila knew her secret, but Patty didn't, and she was determined to keep it that way. "Shut up! Nothing happened. I'm not going to that party."

"But you have to!" Phoebe exclaimed. "He invited you."

"Go out of courtesy at least," Lila added.

"Look, Arnold was just being a nice stupid football-head. That's it. I am not going. Besides I work on Saturdays."

"You could kindly ask your father for the night off," Lila suggested.

"Lila does have a point. Arnold's party will not commence until nine o'clock, you could work the morning and evening shifts."

"Look guys, Bob will never agree to that."

"Then what do you have to lose?" Phoebe asked.

"I can't go to Arnold's party!"

"Why?" they both asked.

"Because every time I look at him I feel like all my past wounds open up. You don't know what it's like to feel this way about someone. You two are beautiful, smart, and nice girls. Look at me, I ain't no Cinderella." Helga motioned to her body. She was wearing her uniform: baby blue polo, khaki pants, and a white belt. Her hair was tied back into a lose pony tail, with her bangs cascading over her forehead. Nothing special at all.

"Helga, I'm ever so sure it sounds like you're afraid," Lila pointed out with a sinister look.

"What did you say?"

"I said, it sounds like you're afraid of going to the party Helga."

"Listen Lila, I ain't afraid of nothing. I'm Helga G Pataki. Get that drilled into your head."

"Then why won't you go ask Bob to let you go?"

"Because I need the money."

Phoebe crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Helga we all know you don't need the money."

"Well I already told Arnold I'm not going."

"But he wants you there," Phoebe said. "Go ask your father."

"HELGA!" Bob shouted from his office. "GET YOURSELF OVER HERE NOW."

She turned to the girls, "yeah I don't think so."

"Helga please," Lila pleated.

"HELGA!"

Helga sighed, turned to her fathers office and walked over. She never did anything for herself, it was all about the business, she needed this. She would just go for an hour or so and leave, maybe take a souvenir from Arnold's room. Bob was sitting in his desk fiddling with dozens of bills around him. He was angry, or annoyed, she couldn't tell.

"Look at this Little Lady, we are losing money because you forget to turn off all the lights when you lock up. I can't be throwing my hard earned money away Olga. This is your first and final warning, you hear me?"

Helga didn't bother correcting him, she had to get on his good side to let her go. "I hear you Dad. Now that I'm here, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Well see there's this party nest Saturday night, and I was wondering if I could get the evening off to go. I can work that morning and afternoon."

"A party huh? Yeah what ever, but I want you here early to work. You can do some inventory."

Helga fought her urge to yelp. She was going to the party! Sure she had to do inventory, the worst job in the store, but anything was worth going to Arnold's. Suddenly the idea of going was becoming more real. "Thanks Dad." _You finally did something right._

_**I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. this will be a short fanfic, so i'll post the rest asap. xoxoKaren**  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Saturday morning rolled around Phoebe and Helga reached the Pataki home after a long day of work. Helga and the girls were always left to lock up the store at midnight, even on school nights. Helga never minded the later shifts, sure she came home tired, but her check at the end of the week made up for it. She also liked the fact that she was one of the few employees that knew the security code to lock the store. Phoebe was sleeping over to help Helga search for a costume for the party that night. They didn't have time to run to a store, so they had to make do with whatever they found in her closet. So far the only thing they could find was a pair of bunny ears from when she was younger.

"I am not going to Arnold's as a rabbit," Helga protested.

"You don't have many other options."

Helga stared at the ears in her hand. Well it was better than nothing. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

"I'm very proud of you for conquering your fears Helga."

"We should get to sleep, we have to be there at eight if we wanna go to the party. What did he assign you?"

Phoebe sighed, "sales, as always. Lila got cleaning."

"And I'm stuck with inventory. Fuck my life."

"But is it worth it?"

Helga thought back to that day when Arnold came into the store to invite them to the party. He always had a way of making her insides melt by the sound of his voice. Not to mention that sexy smile he gave her almost brought her fainting. "It really is Pheebs. Even if I don't get to see him, just being there is special to me. I mean he might not like me the way I do, but a girl can still dream, right?"

Phoebe frowned in disappointment. "Why must you always say that? Why is it so impossible for Arnold to see something special in you?"

"Look at me Phoebe, I am a wreck. Out of all the girls in the world, why would Arnold pick me? Trust me, I screwed that into my head a long time ago."

"I can't believe you would say that. Arnold is much better than that and you know it?"

"Do I? Do I really Pheebs? I told him in the fti building that I loved him, and nothing. Why would he change now?"

"Why won't _you_ change? Why did you fall for Arnold again?"

"Because he was the only one that was nice to me."

"Because he was the only one that was nice to you. Do you really think being mean to him will help your case?"

"I'm going to sleep. It's getting late."

Helga didn't wait for Phoebe's response, she went to her bed and tried her best to go to sleep. It wasn't easy for her, all she could was think about Arnold. What if she did have a chance to talk to him? Would she be as mean as she it to him now? She knew that there were going to be many people at the party, but just the thought of being under the same roof as Arnold was exhilarating.

Inventory was anything but fun. Helga was three hours into her shift and she was already tired. Bob told her that after she was done with inventory she could move on to sales, at least she could relax there. So far she found out that the store carried way too many phones. She found a couple of phones she would like to buy, but she could think about that later. As soon as she was done out back, she changed into her sales floor uniform and headed up front. Lila and Phoebe were already out by the counters, there was no customers at the time. At least her shift would be over at four, after that she would run home with Phoebe to get ready.

"What will you be going as Lila?" Phoebe asked.

"Well I found a fairy costume that is ever so adorable. You?"

"A doctor." The bell rang then, and Patty walked in ready to work. "Good afternoon Patty."

"Hi Phoebe."

"Will you be going to Arnold's party Patty?" Lili asked.

"I don't think so Lila, Mr Pataki needed people to work later, so I decided to do it. I don't care much for parties anyway."

"Well our shift is almost over," Phoebe mentioned. "It would have been great if you went Patty."

"IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE IN FIVE MINUTES YOU ARE FIRED MCGOWAN!"

The girls froze, Bob was on the phone with Stephen McGowan, and by the sound of it, it was not good. Helga ran to his office to see what was going on. Papers were scattered everywhere, and his phone was thrown across the room.

"Dad what's wrong?"

"That idiot McGowan is trying to pull a fast one on me. That dumb ass thinks he can just not come to work when ever he wants! And then God forbid you ask Jefferson to come in tonight! Those inconsiderate bastards! I can understand Wayland not coming in, he's got stomach flu, but McGowan! And to top it all off I have my meeting tonight and I have no one to lock up."

Helga gasped, she had no idea today was his meeting. Bob had been talking about the KAA inc for months now. Tonight he was to close their deal, making him a lot more money. All Helga wanted to do was punch Stephen and John Jefferson.

"I can always try to reschedule, I can't leave Smith here alone."

Helga knew she would hate herself for what she was about to do, but sometimes your dad is much more important than anyone else. "No, Dad go."

"What?"

"Go to the meeting, I'll lock up the joint. You need that deal."

"But what about your party?"

It shocked Helga, Bob actually sounded concerned about it. "Don't worry about it, I don't have to go. Just go."

"Alright Helga, you know the pass code, be sure to lock up at midnight. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

It was getting late, Phoebe and Lila where long gone to Arnold's party. When Helga broke the news to them they were all stunned. Helga tried to put on a brave face for Patty but it wasn't working. It was nine thirty now, and she was standing behind the counter wishing that she was at the party. Only a few more hours till midnight.

"You are an incredible person Helga," Patty's voice echoed in the empty store.

"What?"

"You're here working when you should be off stealing Arnold's heart."

Helga's eyes widened. "What? I don't want Arnold's heart. That's crazy talk. What kind of crap are you saying!?"

Patty rose an eyebrow. "How stupid do you think I am? You go gaga over him every time you see him."

"I can't believe you know. Well it doesn't matter, I'm stuck here."

They were quiet for a few minutes until Patty finally broke the silence. "Look do you really want to go to that party?"

"Doi."

"Then go."

"What?"

Patty came over to her now. "Look I can help you, but you need to promise me you won't be mean to Arnold?"

"Patty there's nothing you can do. The party started and my costume is at home."

"Come with me."

Helga followed out back where they had their lockers. Patty opened hers quickly and pulled out a black bag. "I made on this for my intro to fashion course." Out of the bag she pulled out a long silver satin dress. "What do you think?"

"A princess?"

"Better than nothing."

"Patty, I can't just leave you here, I have to lock up."

"Look, take the dress. Go out and be nice to Arnold. Then come back by midnight to lock up. Your dad will never know you left."

Helga took the dress from Patty's hands, it was beautiful. "Why are you doing this for me?"  
"I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for Arnold." Helga looked confused. "You obviously love the boy, he deserves to know."

"Thank you Patty."

"Just get in the dress, I'll run down to the dollar store across the street to see if they have a crown for you or something."

Helga did as Patty said and slipped into the dress. It felt soft against her skin and fit her perfectly. Helga had had her hair in two braid that day, so they left her hair nice and wavy. She pulled her hair back into a messy high bun to make it look a bit better than it was. Five minutes later Patty was back with a silver tiara, and a white mask.

"I can't believe you're doing this for me."

"Like I said this is for Arnold."

"I wish you could come with me."

"Don't sweat it, just go, but remember be back by midnight."

Helga turned to the door, but before she left she gave Patty a tight hug. No one had ever one something like that to Helga, and to her surprise it was Patty who did. Helga was never great friends with her, they were just coworkers, but Patty somehow still did this. Even if she did say she was doing it for Arnold, deep inside Helga knew she was helping her too.

Out in the parking lot Helga got into her car quickly. It was a little harder to drive in the dress, but anything was worth being at Arnold's. "You're actually going," Helga told herself. "You're going to the party. I can't believe it."

Helga briefly looked at herself in her rearview mirror, she looked nothing like herself, but she was fine with that because she looked great. Sure she was dressed as a princess, but Helga couldn't doubt she looked beautiful.

As she approached the boarding house, she found a parking spot a block away. From the distance she could hear music booming from the house. It was kind off intimidating for Helga to walk in, but still she did it. She saw many of her classmates in there wearing different kinds of costumes. She noticed Rhonda Lloyd wearing a slutty cat costume perfect for her. As she looked around more she noticed there were plenty of slutty cats running around. A few girls stared at her as she walked by, probably amazed by Patty's beautiful dress.

Phoebe and Lila were no where to be found, so Helga had no idea what to do. Helga walked around the house a couple of times trying to find them, but nothing. _Great what are you going to do now Helga?_ She saw some other friends of hers, but she didn't want to talk to them, she just wanted to find Phoebe. Being all alone among so many people Helga felt completely naked.

"I love your dress," a girl in a slutty cat costume said as Helga walked by her. Helga didn't say anything back, she just smiled.

After a few minutes of solitude Helga gave up and took out her cellphone from her satchel. She tried calling Phoebe but she had no bars at all. Helga decided to try going upstairs to see if she could get some bars up there. There was no one upstairs, not even the boarders. She found the stairs to Arnold's room and sat on the bottom of them. She dialed Phoebe's number just to find it turned off.

"Criminy! Why the hell is your phone turned off?" Helga yelled in her voice message. "I am freaking out dammit! Call me asap got it?" She hung up the phone frantically and shoved it in her bag. "At least I'm all alone up here," she told herself.

"Not quite," Arnold's voice called above her.

He was standing at the top of the stairs to his room ironically wearing silver prince costume. Helga couldn't help herself from smiling at him, he looked absolutely adorable. "Guess you want me to find another hiding spot."

"No, I think you can stay."

"Why aren't you at your own party?"

He smiled at the ground. "I kinda wanted the same thing as you. I'm not too fond of the prince costume, my mom made me wear it."

"Well you look dashing," Helga said in a british accent. "You should really go down with your guests, it's a pretty nice party."

"Then why are you up here?"

"I was kinda tired of the slutty cats."

He smiled at her. "I'm Arnold, and not a slutty cat."

Helga was surprised, her costume was so good, Arnold didn't even recognize her. "Hi Arnold, I am also not a slutty cat."

"Yeah, I can see that. I think I counted about twelve down stairs."

"I counted fifteen. You would think they would get a bit more creative."

"This coming from the girl in the princess costume?"

"I had no other choice for your information."

"Do you want to come up and hang out? I don't know if I'm better company than who ever you were yelling at on the phone, but I am the birthday boy."

Helga stood up quickly and walked up the stairs. "I guess I'll take you up on that offer."

"Do I get to know your name?"

"You can just call me Cinderella."

Up in his room everything was just the way it was the last time Helga was up there years ago. Everything was neat and organized perfectly. He motioned her to his couch to sit on. She did facing him in delight.

"So Cinderella, I'm guessing you go to Hillwood High? There's so many people here that I don't know, I hope I don't offend," Arnold said.

"Yeah, I'm kinda oblivious there, and everywhere else. No big deal."

"I doubt that, you seem really nice."

She chuckled. "Yeah, right. I may look like an angel, but I'm far from that Arnold. I've had a lot of shit go on in life."

"I know what you mean, my parents disappeared in the jungle for almost ten years."

"Yeah, I basically lived without parents for my entire life, they're so stupid when it comes to parenting. It's like I don't even exist to them. You're lucky. At least your parents are nice enough to throw you a big party."

"I never really wanted this party, but they insisted."

"Why wouldn't you want a party?" Helga asked.

"I don't know. I'm turning eighteen, and I haven't even seen my family yet, they're all somewhere in the mob of teens. Like I said I don't even know half the people they invited."

"It's the thought that counts, they really put some effort into this party."

"Yeah...So I have to ask, who were you talking to on the phone, you sounded pissed, boyfriend?"

Helga smiled. "Ha, yeah right, it was just my friend. Guys don't look at my that way."

Arnold rose an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I've had a crush on this guy for as long as I could remember, and he just doesn't feel the same way."

"He sounds like an idiot."

_Tell me about._ "What about you? You got some special lady?" She asked even though she really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"There's this girl, I don't know how I feel about her. She told me she loved me." Helga's mouth dropped. "Yeah, it was so unexpected, she was such a bitch to me when we were kids, she still kinda acts that way too. I don't know, she's still mean to me, but I don't know if she still likes me. She didn't even show up to the party, and I personally invited her."

"Do you want her to like you?" She asked anxiously.

"I honestly don't know. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be with her, but then she goes and calls me football-head or picks on me."

"Wow, we do have more in common than I thought Arnold."

"So if this guy hasn't shown any affection toward you, why haven't you moved on?"

"Why haven't you?"

"Touche." The laughed together like they had know each other their whole lives. Helga wished she could find the courage to take off her mask and tell him it was her, but she couldn't. "Maybe I just haven't found the right girl to get Helga off my mind." Arnold's eyes grew larger when he realized what he said.

"Helga Pataki?" she asked pretending to be surprised. "I didn't know she had a heart."

"I didn't either, but she does."

"You're okay Arnold."

"You're pretty okay too, _Cinderella_. You want me to get you a slice of cake form the kitchen before it's all gone?"

"I'd love that."

"I'll right back." Arnold left the room leaving Helga in glee.

A few minutes after he left her phone was buzzing with Phoebe's number on the screen. "What?"

"Helga! What's wrong?" Phoebe sweet voice said.

"Nothing, I'm fine now. Bye." She hung up then not waiting for reply. As she clicked the end button she noticed it was already eleven. While she had her phone out she set an alarm for eleven forty-five.

"You're in Arnold's room. You're talking to him, like a person! I'M IN ARNOLD'S ROOM!" Helga was too excited that she couldn't hold it in. She really was having a conversation with Arnold, and she was being nice. Best of all he was talking about Helga, and he had some feelings toward her. Nothing could be more perfect than this.

After a few more minutes Arnold was back carrying a giant slice of cake on a plate with two forks. "I tried to carry two plate, but that didn't really work out. I hope you don't mind."

"Eh don't worry about it." Helga picked up one of the forks from Arnold's hand and tasted the cake. It was red velvet with cream cheese frosting, delicious. What she did notice that there were a couple of strawberries on the top of the cake, so she pushed them aside quickly.

"Not a fan of strawberries?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, we never really got along, but I love the cake. Isn't red velvet kinda girly?"

"Tell me about it, my mom picked it out. You know you look really familiar."

Helga looked down at the cake, she had no idea what to say. She could come out and say, _I'm Helga Pataki, and yes Arnold I still love you. Kiss me you love God!_ Or she could have a great night with Arnold and never have that again. She decided to go with option 2. "You might have seem me around school."

"Are you sure you're not in a class with me? I just know I've seen you before. You gotta tell me your name."

Helga looked back up, she pulled her hair behind her ear and thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she told him. "My name? It's -"

"Cecile."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I just thought...forget it."

"You still remember that?" Helga asked him. She didn't think Arnold still remembered the night Helga had impersonated his french penpal Cecile, even she had forgotten. "That was nine years ago Arnold."

"So it is you, I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again."

"This was not how I thought the night would go. You know what, I should go." Helga jumped out of the couch frantically. Before she could go anywhere Arnold pulled her back by the arm.

"Please don't go, we need to talk. I've been thinking about you since that night, wondering who you are and if I would ever see you again."

"You don't want to know, trust me."

"I might not want to know, but I need to know."

Helga sat there for a minute trying not to cry. As much as she wanted to tell him the truth, she just couldn't find it in herself to say it. "Do you know what it's like to live your entire life wondering? To dream about a life where you don't have this facade following you all the time? Sometimes I tell myself that my life is fine, but I know that it's not. If you knew who I was, I don't think you would ever talk to me again."

"I was nine when I met you, and I didn't know what to think, but now I know that I need to know who you are. Look I don't want to pressure you, but please tell me I get to see you again, and not nine years later."

Helga sighed, "I wish I could promise you that Arnold, but I can't. This wasn't what was suppose to happen. I was suppose to come to your party and be invisible."

Arnold reached his hand across the couch to touch Helga's. It felt warm against Helga's chilly fingers. "Maybe this was suppose to happen."

"Arnold I am far from what you deserve in a girl."

"Or maybe I'm just nowhere close to what you deserve."

Helga looked up at Arnold. He looked at her with deep adoration that Helga couldn't stand, because he was falling not for her, but for Cecile. And as he looked deep into her blue eyes they yelled at him, "I'M HELGA PATAKI! PLEASE ARNOLD IT'S ME!" Yet Arnold just couldn't read them close enough.

"What are you thinking about?" Arnold asked her after she looked into his eyes without saying a word.

"I'm not Cecile, I am nothing like that girl you wrote letters to. I am a closet poet, a drama queen, and a total bitch, and I'm just not the girl you want. You want Cecile, the sweet, polite french girl."

"Look I didn't think about Cecile for a second until I actually sat down for dinner with you." He clutched Helga's hand now. "You were nothing like the girl I wrote letters to. You were daring, funny, and spontaneous. Now that I'm here with you, I don't want the girl in the letters, I never wanted her. I want to get to know you, Cinderella, not Cecile."

Before Helga could say a word, her phone began ringing with her ringtone killing the moment. The song was one of her favorites, but right now it was not too enjoyable. On the screen Phoebe's name popped up. "What?" Helga asked her quickly.

"Helga, is everything okay? Lila and I returned to the store, but Patty informed us you went to the party. Are you alright, we didn't see you there. It's getting late."

"Listen I'm fine okay, just dandy. I need to go." With that she hung up.

"She is the sunlight?" Arnold asked after Helga hung up.

It took a moment for her to realize he was talking about her ringtone. "Yeah, you like the song?"

"I haven't met too many people that like that song. So same person one the phone?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm not too big of a girl to take care of myself."

* * *

Time went by and Arnold and his Cinderella had been talking non stop. First about music, then school, then family. The more he talked to her, the more he felt like he knew her his entire life. He wished she could just tell him who she was, but time after time she refused. At first Arnold didn't know if he wanted to know who she was, what if he really couldn't handle it? She was just so amazing, and beautiful.

"What are you thinking about?" Cecile asked him once he stopped talking.

"About you."

"Is that a good thing?"

He smiled softly at her. Everything she said blew him away, not because of her confidence, but by her humbleness about her own beauty and personality. "Of course it's a good thing. You're incredible."

"Incredible? I guess I could live with that." Arnold smiled even more now, everything she did ignited these uncontrollable smiles that both hurt him, and made him feel alive. "Why do you keep smiling like that? What are you really thinking?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do!"

"Fine," he brought his head up to her. "I'm thinking that I really, really want to kiss you right now."

A small smile appeared on her face. "I think we can arrange that."

Arnold did hesitate, before he knew it his lips were inches away from hers. Soon they were lightly brushing hers.

Just then her phone rang. She jumped in fright and looked at it. "Oh shit! I have to go!" She quickly put on her bag and stood rom the couch. "I had a great time Arnold, I'll see you when I see you."

"Wait!"

"I'm sorry I can't. I have to go."

Arnold noticed a small piece of paper with many number on it fell out of her bag. He turned to the door to give it to her, but she was gone.

**I really hope you guys liked this. Please give me some feedback. xoxoKaren**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"And it was her Gerald!"

Arnold and Gerald had been sitting in study hall that Monday morning talking about the party, now Arnold was telling his story on how he had been reunited with Cecile. Gerald had been listening attentively as always, since he was the only person that knew about her. "Man you have got to be kidding me. What happened next?"

"Well we hung out and talked, and then..."

"Then what man?" Gerald asked after Arnold drifted silent.

"I asked her if I could kiss her."

"Oh man you didn't!? That's my boy right there. How was it?"

Arnold sighed. "I was about to, when she left."

"She just left?"

"Her phone went off and she ran out the door."

"That sucks. Well did she give you any info?"

"Nothing. But she dropped this," Arnold quickly pulled out the piece of paper Cecile had dropped. He had it stashed in his wallet for safekeeping.

" is this a phone number?" Gerald inspected it carefully.

"No, I checked, but it's not a real area code. I don't know what it could be."

"Well at least you know she goes to school here."

"Yeah, but so do thousands of other girls."

"Well come on man, what do you know about her."

"She's incredible. She loves poetry, and sports. She has a rough family life, but she tries to be a better person."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "I mean, what do you know physically about her?"

"Well she's blonde."

"Well that narrows it down to half the girls in school."

"She was wearing a costume, I couldn't tell anything else."

"Well Arnold, you've got to wait till she comes to you. That's all I gotta say."

As the bell rang the rest of the class began to take their seats. Arnold noticed Helga Pataki taking her seat in front of him. "Hey Helga." She turned to see Arnold, and rolled her eyes. "I was waiting to see you at my party, why didn't you go?"

"Oh please Arnoldo, do you actually think I would be caught dead at your party? Please. I had better things to do like eat a worm."

Helga turned back without another word.

"Why do you still try Arnold?" Gerald asked him in a disappointed voice. "That girl hates you."

"I just have to Gerald, I'm determined to get Helga to like me."

"Yeah, when pigs fly."

"You never know Gerald."

* * *

That afternoon Helga rushed to the store to start her shift. Usually she and Stephen McGowan where there at four, but he was not in today. It was obvious that Bob had fired him, now Alec Wayland was there to take over his shift. She went to her locker and stuffed her school bag in and took her cellphone out. She was off to check the chart to see what position she was working today, but instead was called into her father's office.

"Hi Dad."

"Hey Little Lady," Bob said. "I need that pass code on my desk pronto, I forgo the dang code and I can't find the manual."

Helga checked her pocket to see if she had the piece of paper. Bob had a special password for the security system that both locked and opened all the doors. So far there was nothing in her pocket, it might had been in her bag. When she went to check her satchel there was nothing there.

"I think I must had dropped it."

"DROPPED IT?!" Bob yelled. "Helga do you know what could happen if someone found that code?"

"Bob please, no one would know what a random number means. Look I know it by heart, I'll just say it to you."

"You better, I don't want no new installation for my security system."

Helga sighed. "It's one, zero, zero, zero, two, two, five, six, nine. Happy?"

"Watch your mouth there."

"Whatever Bob, I need to get to my shift."

There were a coupled of people in the store already being attended by Alec, so Helga just chilled behind the sales desk upfront. She was upset with herself today, not only had she lost the password, but she had been a jerk to Arnold again. The night she came back from the party she was amazed at her composure, and swore she would tell Arnold it was her.

"How was it Cinderella?" Patty asked her once she walked in the door.

"Amazing. We talked all night, and he even tried to kiss me."

"That's great Helga, so you guys are like a couple now?"

"Not quite."

The three girls looked at her with worry. "What ever do you mean?" Lila asked.

"Well, I kinda didn't tell him it was me."

"HELGA!" They yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell him. He was just so into me, and if he found it was Helga Pataki talking to him he would be disgusted."

Patty looked so disappointed in Helga that even Helga felt ashamed of herself. She couldn't even look her in the eyes. "Helga I gave you that dress for a reason. You promised me you would tell him."

"I tried Patty! I swear to God I tried! But he started talking about me and I just couldn't tell him."

"Whatever did he say?" Lila asked.

"He said he doesn't know how he feels about Helga Pataki, but he's thought about her."

"And that wasn't a good time to tell him _you're_ Helga Pataki?" Patty sounded much more angry now.

"You just don't understand Patty."

"You're right, I don't understand."

Helga wished she could go back and tell him, but it was too late now. Now in the store the people Alec had attended were gone. He came over to her, since she was the only one in the store with him.

"It took me forever to get that lady to buy a phone. You better take the next people."

Helga shrugged, she hates people. There was nothing worse than faking a smile and trying to sell someone a phone plan. "Whatever. How was the stomach flu?"

"Just great actually. You know throwing up is actually really relaxing."

"Yeah? no wonder models do that so much."

The bell rang just then and the two of them turned to see who was in the store. It was Arnold and Gerald. "You're turn Helga." But before Alec knew it, Helga was hiding behind the counter.

"Please take these people Alec, please. I can't let them see me, I'll do anything."

Alec rolled his eyes and turned to the boys. Helga listened as he talked to them. "Welcome to Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium, how may I help you?"

"Hey,"Arnold's voice said, "I bought this charger a bit ago, but it's for the wrong phone. Is Helga around?"

Helga winced, the last thing she wanted was to talk to Arnold.

Alec quickly looked down, but Helga shook her head. "Ugh, she not really available right now."

"I thought she had a shift right now. Are you sure she's not in?"

Alec looked down again, and again Helga said no. "I'm sure, need me to help you with that?"

"Nah, I'll just come back when she's in."

"Have a nice day."

"Thanks."

Helga waited until she heard the bell again to come out. Arnold was gone, but now she had some explaining to do with Alec.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"Please don't ask."

"Oh, I'm asking alright. What is up with you and that guy?"

Helga exhaled. "Nothing, I just didn't want to talk to him."

"What happened? Ex boyfriend or something?"

"Since when do I have to explain anything to you Wayland?"

"Since you made me do that Pataki."

Before Helga knew it she was telling him everything that happened that night with Arnold. Helga wasn't too afraid when telling Alec, he didn't go to her high school, so he didn't even know Arnold. It was actually kind of nice letting all of that stuff go. At the same time, Helga couldn't help but feel even more insane as she told her story.

"You are so insane," Alec told her as she finished her story.

"I know okay."

"No you don't. That dude it obviously mad for you and you're keeping yourself away from him."

Helga frowned. "Who's side are you on Alec?"

"I'm the unbiased coworker."

"Look Alec, it told you my story, now help me out. What should I do?"

"Tell him the truth." Helga frowned again. "I'm being serious, you need to tell him it's you."

"What? I should just go up to him and be like, 'hey football-head, remember that girl you thought was Cecile? Well guess what it's me. Let's make out."

"Okay, maybe not like that, but you have to tell him."

"How?"

"I don't know, I guess you can just have him alone with you, and just talk."

Helga smiled, she didn't know how she'd do it yet, but Alec Wayland had just convinced her to try. "Thanks Alec, for listening."

"No problem." He smiled back at her and turned to go back to his counter. He quickly turned back and yelled, "Arnold's coming!"

Frantically Helga dropped to the floor to hide, only to be stopped by Alec's laughter. "Very funny."

"That's why I'm laughing."

That night Helga sat in her room wondering more and more about what Alec had told her. She knew she would tell Arnold now, how she would do it was still a mystery. She couldn't just go up and tell him, right? She had to do something special, something that would help him fall even more for her. Helga took out one of her pink notebooks and scribbled down a couple of ideas for how to tell him. Most of them were stupid, but she had to start somewhere.

* * *

Arnold and Gerald sat in Arnold's room eating a peperoni pizza and surfing the internet. There was never anything to do on there, but somehow they were always brainwashed into looking at the computer.

"I got an idea man!" Gerald exclaimed out of no where.

Arnold looked at him confused as always. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you put a post on facebook."

"You're joking. Tell me you're joking."

Gerald shook his head. "Nah man. Look, just make a facebook event and invite all the girls you can, and ask if any of them are your Cinderella."

"That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard. I sound desperate."

"Aren't you?"

Arnold thought for a minute about that. He _was_ desperate. He knew people would laugh at him for posting the event, but he just had to find Cecile. "Maybe I am, but are you sure this will work?"

"Of course. You can make it an open event so people can add all the girls they know."

"Alright. Make it."

Gerald cracked his fingers and began to work. He wrote down, "FIND CINDERELLA" as the event name and began inviting girls. "Were you at Arnold's party? Are you his Cinderella? If you're reading this Cecile, make sure to let us know. And save."

Arnold slapped Gerald behind his head. "What the hell, Gerald!"

"What?"

"You're not suppose to mention Cecile's name, that was suppose to be the test!"

"Oh sorry."

Arnold went back to his bed and laid there silently. "And now we wait."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That morning Helga awoke to the sound of Bob's voice booming in the house. It was almost time for her to go to school, so she sluggishly got out of bed, feeling like her whole body was in pain. Helga liked to listen to music in the morning, so she turned her laptop on quickly. While her eyes finally opened entirely, the computer loaded and she had her music playing. She took the liberty of checking her email and facebook while she was at it. There weren't any new emails, and all she had on facebook was a stupid event invitation. If she could she would stay home today, but sadly there was too much to do.

Helga quickly got ready and headed for school. She grabbed a granola bar on her way out and her bag. She had a stupid lecture in government today by a college professor, and she wished she wouldn't fall asleep. The last time Helga dozed off in class she was sent to the principal's office and given detention. It wasn't her fault class was boring.

No one in class looked excited today, but girls looked extra bubbly. Maybe the professor was good looking, Helga hadn't seen him yet. Phoebe dashed in the room panting on her way to her seat next to Helga.

"Pheebs calm down, you still have five minute left."

"Helga! A-Arnold is l-looking for you."

Helga rose an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Phoebe handed Helga her cellphone with facebook on the screen. Phoebe directed her to her latest event invitation. "Find Cinderella?"

"Gerald told me about it. They're sending it to all the girls in school, to find you."

Helga stared at the screen again. There were three hundred girls on the invite list, and already some were commenting. Arnold was a handsome lad, there was no surprise girls were pretending to be Cecile. What was bringing Helga down was the fact that she couldn't see herself telling Arnold now. "I can't believe this is happening."

"But you're the real Cecile, these girls are nothing."

"I can't tell him now. What proof would I have? Three hundred girls know the name Cecile now. This is a disaster."

"Helga, I'm confident you can show Arnold you're Cecile. Just tell him about impersonating her in the fourth grade. No one else knows that."

"You're right Pheeebs. I can do this."

The bell rang just then. Mr. James tried to get the class settled for the lecture, and the professor came in. To the boy's liking she was a tall blonde beauty."Hello class, my name is Dr. Misa. I am a government professor at Brown University. Before I begin, I brought some Brown brochures if anyone would like one."

The first to stand for a brochure was the unbearable, Janet Buttermore. The genius was always trying to flaunt her brains. As she walked up, she flipped her long blonde braid behind her. "Thank you Dr. Misa. My mother went to Brown, and I cannot wait to be enrolled."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yeah, neither can the rest of the school." The class started to giggle in unison. No one liked Janet, she was just too annoying.

"Would anyone else like one?" Dr. Misa asked.

"I'll take one," Helga said. She walked over to grab the paper. "I was actually thinking about Columbia, but I might give Brown a shot."

Janet shot her nose up in the air as she walked back to her seat behind Helga. "That top is a violation of the school dress code, Helga." Janet was pointing at Helga's navy blue tank top. "I would suggest you wear a sweater."

"I would suggest you fuck off, Four Eyes."

"Language!"

"Bite me!"  
"Girls!" Mr. James yelled. "Please settle down."

Janet smiled from her seat, feeling as if she had won. Helga wanted nothing more than to go back there and yank her braid, or punch her face, but Janet wouldn't get the best of Helga. What she had to think about was Arnold and how Helga would tell him she was Cecile. "I'm telling Arnold today, Pheebs," Helga whispered.

"That's amazing, Helga," Phoebe replied.

"No talking ladies," Janet said in her snobby voice.

Helga turned to her. "Thanks _Mom_. Piss off."

"PATAKI!" Mr. James was looking straight at her now. "Out of my classroom. Now."

Helga didn't fight him, she grabbed her bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Mr. James expected her to go straight to the main office, but Helga headed to the back stairwell of the school. No one used it much, it was mainly a good shortcut. She sat there for a while, she knew she would have detention that afternoon, and she couldn't just tell Arnold in study hall. She would just have to tell him tomorrow.

* * *

After school Arnold and Gerald headed to the boarding house to see how the event was going. So far there were fifteen girls saying they were Cecile. It was weird that so many would say that, now it would be harder to find the real one. "What about Kim St Clair?" Gerald asked him.

"Too preppy."

"Anna Henderson?"

"Too boring."

"Iridian Jaramillo?"

"She wears a triple XL gym uniform."

"Alright, well what about this girl, Janet Buttermore."

Arnold thought for a second. "Janet Buttermore?"

"She wrote," Gerald cleared his throat. "Wow, this some way to try to find me."

"Well she is blonde, and super smart..."

"But?"

"I don't think it can be her."

"More like you don't want it to be her."

"It's not that I don't want it to be her, I just..."

"Wanted it to be someone else?"

"No." He was lying, he knew he didn't want Cecile to be Janet, it couldn't be. Suddenly a message appeared on his wall from Janet herself.

"Hey look, read it."

"Arnold, I've been waiting years to be with you. I never believed you would search for me in this fashion. I think this is her man."

Arnold looked at it himself. "Janet Buttermore? It can't be Janet, Cecile is so sweet and funny. Janet is well...Janet."

"I know what you mean, Arnold, but who else would know that besides Cecile herself."

He was right, sadly. Still Arnold wondered if there would be someone else that knew that information. "I need to talk to her."

"Call her man."

Arnold did as he said and dialed the number on Janet's page. On the third ring she picked up.

"Janet Buttermore. How may I help you."

"Hi Janet, it's Arnold."

There was a slight pause. "Arnold, Arnold, Arnold. I was expecting your call. I missed you, that night with you was incredible."

Arnold took in a breath feeling both nervous and angry, both at himself and at the world. "Janet, I need to ask you one question."

"Go for it."

He exhaled. "When did I first meet you?"

"You don't trust me, Arnold?"

"I'm just making sure."

"Fourth grade, when I pretended to be the real Cecile."

Arnold's stomach dropped to the bottom of his body. So this was his Cecile, Janet Buttermore. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his cool. He finally found her, after years. Maybe Janet would end up being more like Cecile than she really was. She was smart, and smart, and well there wasn't much else he knew about Janet. But now he knew she was Cecile, and now he knew she was capable of being a sweet, caring, funny person. His search was finally over.

* * *

Helga dashed into the store as quickly as she could. She was already an hour late for work, and now she had to explain her detention to her dad. The only people on floor today were her and Alec, so as soon as she saw him helping five people at a time, she knew she was in trouble. Bob gave Helga a nice yell, but just let her get to work that instant. Once Alec saw her walk in he sent her a few of the customers to assist. In about forty-five minutes people were walking away with what they were looking for, mostly just phone cases or chargers.

"Why so late?" Alec asked once the last customer left the store.

"Detention."

"Fun. Don't ever get it again or I'll go drag you out of there."

"I'll keep that in mind next time."

"So, what's new?"

"I'm going to tell him."

"Arnold?"

"Yup."

"Are you sure?"

"Nope."

"You are really brave Helga."

"I'm actually not, believe it or not. But I know I have to tell him."

"Don't look now, your Casanova's coming."

Alec was right, Arnold was walking into the store right then. That was when Helga realized she wasn't ready for this. She ducked under the counter once more and hid. Alec tried his best to bring her back up, but there was no use. Arnold was already approaching him.

"Welcome to Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium. How may I be of assistance?"

"Hey, is Helga here today?"

Alec looked down. "Actually-" Helga punched him behind the knee. "She's not in. Hey aren't you the Cinderella guy?"

"Yup, that's me. Kinda."

"What do you mean?"

"I think I might have found her."

"Really? Who is it?"

Helga's heart started beating faster and faster. Arnold must have been here to tell her he knew. ARNOLD KNEW. Helga slowly started to stand up form the floor.

"Janet Buttermore."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Janet Buttermore? The psycho bitch Helga's always complaining about?" Alec asked Arnold after he said that horrible name. Helga's stomach was in a knot still trying to process what happened.

"Well when you put it that way..."

Helga tried her best not to implode right then. To her luck she managed to bump her head on the counter, hard. "Ow, my knee," Alec said to cover. "I'll tell her you stopped by. Have fun with that chick."

Once Arnold was gone Helga stood from the counter and just screamed her lungs out. "WHAT THE HELL?! JANET? HOW THE BLOODY HELL COULD IT BE JANET?"

"Calm down."

"HOW DO YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN? HE THINKS IT'S JANET BUTTERMORE!"

"Okay so this is bad, but he'll find out it's not her."

Helga dropped to the floor again, holding her head to her knees. "This cannot be happening. I'm Cecile! Not Janet. Why would he ever think it was her? She's a monotoned bitch."

"I don't know what to tell you Helga."

"This is all my fault. I can't believe I didn't tell him."

* * *

"I can't believe you never told me,"Arnold said to Janet as he stepped into her clean white room. Everything was neatly organized in her shelves, to the point where it was weird.

"You knew I couldn't tell you, what would you think of me?"

Arnold took a seat in one of her white chairs facing her balcony. "Why didn't you tell me? I don't understand why. How did you even know me in fourth grade? I was in Mr Simon's class."

"I'm very persistent, Arnold. I wanted to tell you everyday after I met you, but I was afraid. You have to understand that. Look at us now, you're questioning me as we speak."

"I don't want to be rude, but _you_ have to understand that I never thought it would be you."

"Why? Because I'm a nerd? Because I'm this amazing?"

"No. I just never really saw you that way. Look this is just a shock to me."

"I know how you feel. Who would have thought you were going to post this on facebook. Now everyone will know I snuck around pretending to be some Italian chick."

"French."

"What?"

"Cecile was french."

"Oh yeah, sorry totally forgot. It's been so long, since fourth grade."

Arnold shook it off and listened to Janet as she spoke. As much as he tried to think of her as his Cecile, he just couldn't find it in himself to do it. She was Janet Buttermore, the girl that beat him in the spelling bee, and then laughed in his face. Cecile is kind, sassy, and amazing. Arnold decided to give Janet a chance, if she really was Cecile he didn't want to let her go. Maybe it would just take more time for her to warm up to being herself around Arnold.

* * *

That morning Helga forced herself out of bed as her mother called her to breakfast. She didn't want to go to school today, and with a bit of convincing Miriam would let her stay. Bob was already at work and Miriam was tossed on the couch like a rag doll.

"Mom, I don't think I can go to school today, I feel awful. Can I please stay home?"

Miriam brought her head up to her, hardly opening her eyes. "Uh yeah sure Helga, whatever."

Helga walked back upstairs to try to go back to sleep. Even in the comfort of her own bed, she couldn't find it in herself to close her eyes. She thought of her beloved and how he could fall into the lies of Janet Buttermore. He had to be smarted than to believe her. He had to be. It was Arnold, one of the smartest boys Helga knew, he couldn't fall for it. Right.

* * *

Arnold walked into school that morning feeling both nervous and excited. He had finally found his Cecile and now he one thing off his shoulders. He wasn't quite sure if he would ask Janet out or anything, he did try to kiss her in the party, but he felt like now he had to get to know her from scratch. Honestly, he was looking forward to that. It amazed him that one day Janet would come out of her arrogant shell and show off her sweet interior.

By his locker, Janet lingered with a subtle smile on her face. "Hello Arnold."

"Hi, how are you?" Arnold opened his locker then.

"Fine, but this english homework was very difficult."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's this poem by Emily Dickinson. I have never read something so ludicrous in my life. You can't believe that an untitled poem would be this difficult."

Arnold nodded and continued to take out some books he needed. "Sounds rough. You'll do fine."

"Of course I will. I always do fantastic." She smiled. "Well I have to head out. I have to get to government. We have a debate today."

"I hate debates," Arnold said.

"It's better when you get to beat Helga Pataki, she thinks she knows so much."

"You don't like Helga?"

"Not at all. She and I are up for valedictorian, and I intend on being it. I better do. Tootles."

With that Janet was off. Now that she mentioned it, he had to see Helga about that charger. Hopefully he would remember later.

* * *

Phoebe sat in her last class without Helga by her side. She texted her saying she was sick, but Phoebe knew that wasn't so. There was something wrong with Helga, she didn't know what, but she intended to find out. Behind her Gerald and Arnold talked before class started. Phoebe tried not to listen in, but they were pretty loud.

"So you're convinced it's Janet?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah, Janet's Cecile."

Phoebe's eyes widened. "What?!"

Suddenly the entire class was silent. She turned around and saw the two boys looking right at her. "Ugh, sorry about that, but did you say Janet? As in Janet Buttermore?"

"Yeah," Gerald replied. "Arnold's Cinderella."

"Are both of you in some sort of psychosis? Janet Buttermore isn't Cinderella."

Arnold sighed, "I thought that too, Phoebe, but it's really her. Janet is Cinderella."

Phoebe felt disgusted by what she was hearing. "That is incorrect, Arnold. Janet Buttermore is a coldhearted monster, nothing like Hel... like hell she's not! Cecile is poetic, beautiful, funny, and sweet."

Arnold looked at Phoebe suspiciously. "Phoebe, how would you know that?"

"Wild guess?"

"What do you know that we don't?" Gerald asked.

"I know nothing."

"Arnold!" This teacher called from the front of the classroom. "Can you come here for a moment?"

Arnold walked up there where his teacher had a stack of papers in her arm. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Anything Miss Lee."

She smiled. "Thanks goodness. See Helga Pataki is out sick, something about chicken pox, so I need someone to take her her assignments."

"Couldn't she get them tomorrow?"

"Nooo. Helga needs to keep her grades up to be valedictorian, we wouldn't want that other girl to get it. She and I have been working on her speech already."

"I didn't know Helga was so dedicated to this."

"Oh yes! Helga is crazy about this. She's already applying to Columbia and Yale, she needs to keep her rank of one."

Arnold was surprised, he always thought that Janet was one. "Wait, Helga's ranked one?"

"Oh yes, she hates saying it but she is. She's my top student, she's planning on majoring in either literature or psychology, she can't decide yet."

"Literature?"

"Oh yes, Helga's a little poetry lover. Dickinson, Cummings, Elliot, all her favorites."

"I never knew this."

"She doesn't really like to talk about it. So would be you a dear and take this to her?"

Arnold took the stack of papers form his teacher. "Sure."

"Thank you so much Arnold."

* * *

That afternoon Arnold walked to Bob's to take Helga her homework. Miss Lee had gathered all her work from every class. Arnold noticed that Helga took difficult classes. AP Government, AP Physics, AP Literature, AP Calculus, AP Art History, and Creative Writing. Arnold never thought that Helga did so much with school. The stack of homework was so big, he couldn't imagine when she'd get the time to do it all. Helga worked in the store almost everyday, and she took all those advanced placement classes, it was surprising how she did it.

The bell rang as Arnold walked into Bob's and he saw Patty in Helga's usual counter. He walked up to her, she was alone with the guy Arnold had met the other day. "Hi Patty."

"Hello Arnold. How may I help you?"

"I was looking for Helga, is she in?"

Patty looked over to the boy next to her. "She's not, she's sick."

"Chicken pox," the boy added.

"Oh, I should have thought that if she wasn't in school, she wouldn't be here."

"Don't worry about it," Patty said.

"Is she okay?" Arnold asked.

"No," the boy said.

"Don't listen to Alec, Helga's fine."

"No she's not," Alec said. "Why are you even here? I thought you didn't even like Helga."

"I had to bring her some homework." Arnold looked at the paper at the top of the stack. "See, Untitled by Emily Dickinson."

"That's Helga's favorite poem," both of them said at the same time.

"Is it really?"

"Yeah," Alec continued. "She only tells us every time she can. The one about the ships of purple, right?"

"Right."

"It's a pretty difficult poem to understand."

"Yeah, I was talking to Janet about it and she found it really hard."

Patty winced. "That girl Helga hates? Why would you be talking to her? I heard she's a jerk."

Arnold was about to turn red, it seemed like he always had to explain himself to everyone about Janet, was she really that bad? "Well she and I kinda have a thing going on. She's my Cinderella."

Patty looked both furious and surprised. "As in the girl from your party? It's not Janet. What would ever make you think it's her?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I know it's Janet. I'm going to go give this to Helga. See ya."

Helga felt bored after hours of doing nothing around the house. She thought about going out for a walk. There was nothing interesting on tv today, wrestling had just ended. She went to grab a jacket to head out. No one was home, so she grabbed some keys too. Maybe she could get herself out of school tomorrow too, the last thing she wanted to do was see Arnold with far avoiding him was working. She went over to open the door when she saw Arnold halfway up her stoop.

"Helga," he said as she came into view. He carried a stack of papers with him and his backpack.

"Arnold, what are you doing here?"

"I just came to drop this off. I thought you had the chicken pox."

Helga took a breath, this was not going well. "Wow, you caught me Football-Head."

"Here, Miss Lee sent you your homework."

Helga took the stack from him. The first paper she saw was her favorite poem. "Dickinson. I love this poem. She is a genius, who else would think of using 'sea of daffodil'?"

"Janet said it was pretty difficult."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yeah cuz she's a stupid geek. She knows nothing about art and poetry."

"You really don't like her?"

"Arnold, I hate her with the burning passion of a thousand suns. I hope you and her are happy with each other."

"Listen Helga-"

"Just get off of my stoop. Thanks for the homework."

**sorry it took too long to post, I've had waay too much homework**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day Helga returned to school after she had a talk on the phone with Miss Lee. She wanted to skip again, but she couldn't fall behind on her school work, she just wouldn't let Janet take the one thing she had away from her, she already had Arnold. But how was it that she had gotten to him? How did she convince him she was Cecile? By the time she reached her government class, Phoebe was already there, saving her seat.

"So the pox faded quickly," Phoebe said as Helga sat down.

"Yeah, I would have stayed in but Miss Lee got to me. She really wants me to to stay number one."

Phoebe smiled. Phoebe was ranked two with Janet, she was fine with it though. After a while, Phoebe decided to give herself a break from school, she already had an early acceptance to Columbia, so now she was letting Helga have her time to shine. She was also scared of the thought of speaking in front of so many people. That was the reason Janet hated Helga so much, she knew Phoebe would never rank lower than her, so Janet would be ranked third by the end of the year. And she just wouldn't have that. "I want you to stay one too, Helga. You have to beat Janet out."

Helga smiled, but as soon as she looked up to the door it dropped. Janet as walking in and waving goodbye to Arnold. "Speak of the devil."

Janet walked in and sat in her seat behind Helga, giving her an evil smile. "I thought you'd be out for a least another week, too bad."

"Nice to see you too geekbait. So how exactly did you hypnotize Arnold into thinking you're his dream girl? Because for obvious reasons, you're not it."

The girl gave her another wicked smiled. "Actually Helga, you did all the work for me."

"What?"

"You should really watch what you say in public, there might be a little birdie sitting right behind you."

Helga's mouth dropped, so that's how Janet knew, she listened in to her conversation with Phoebe. "I never thought-"

"What? That I would find out?"

"That you liked Arnold."

"That's the thing, I don't, but you do."

"You really are an evil bitch."

"Maybe I am, I just love the thought that I have the one thing you want, and will now never have."

"You really are brilliant."

"Surprised?"

"Not anymore."

Helga turned around to see the chalkboard and tried to get Janet out of her head. How could anyone just do that, no only to Helga, but to Arnold. Helga fought back her urge to punch Janet, the last thing she wanted was to get expelled from school.

"Miss Pataki," Mrs James called out.

"Yes?" Helga asked from her seat.

"Congratulations, I read your poem in the newspaper, it was fantastic."

Helga turned red. "In the paper? I thought that was anonymous."

"Doesn't seem so. The teachers are loving this. How about a round of applause to Helga, and our future valedictorian." The class began to clap for Helga then.

Helga turned to Janet. "At least that's one thing _you_ will never have, _Cecile_."

That afternoon Helga arrived at the shop without a word to anyone. Alec was in the store with Lila, but they must have known not to talk to her. She changed quickly in the backroom to get to her counter. The store was empty so Helga took the liberty of bringing a book out with her. She picked her favorite love story, Pride and Prejudice. She had read that book twice already, and every time she would find something else to love about it.

After a few hours Helga was a third in to the book and Lila finished her shift. Bob had Helga lock up today, so she still had to wait until ten to close the store. At least it wasn't a weekend, that's when she would stay until midnight.

"Hey," Alec said after a while. "I'm going to head out. Want me to stay with you?"

"I'm actually thinking about leaving early."

Just as Helga said that the bell of the door rang. "Sounds like you have another customer."

Helga looked over and saw Arnold coming her way. "Lock up the front door, I'll let him out the back."

"You sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"Sure."

Arnold made his way to Helga's counter expressionless. "Hi."

"Welcome to Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium, how may I help you, Sir?"

Arnold smiled. "Well _Miss_, I would like to exchange this charger. It seems you gave me the wrong kind."

Helga frowned and turned back to the wall of chargers. There didn't seem to be any Android chargers on the wall, probably all out back. "Criminy. I'll go check if there's any out in the stock room."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Yes I do."

Against Helga's wishes, Arnold tagged along with her out back. No one in the store anymore so everything was dark and cold. In the many boxes she was able to find the charger section.

"How are you?" Arnold asked after minutes of silence.

"Do you really care?"

"Yes actually."

Helga sighed. "I'm just peachy."

"I can tell."

Helga finally found the box of Android chargers and pulled out to search. "Finally." Inside at the very bottom a charger for Arnold's phone was sitting. Without saying another word, Helga stood up and walked back into the sales floor. She walked behind the counter and turned her register on. "May I see the receipt?"

Arnold looked through his backpack and pulled the receipt. "Here you go."

Helga took it and punched in some numbers in the register. After a couple of minutes she finished the exchange. Helga handed Arnold the new charger in a bag. "Thank you for shopping at Bob's, have a nice day."

"I actually have something for you." Arnold looked though his backpack again, this time he pulled out a plastic container and two forks. Once he brought it up to the counter she noticed it was a slice of cake. "We had some left over and I thought you might want some." He opened the container then and handed Helga a fork.

"Wow, this is rather nice of you." Helga took the fork and picked at the cake away from the strawberries. She liked the cake, it tasted the way it did the first time.

"Don't like strawberries?" He asked once he noticed her picking around them.

"Can't have them."

"What?"

"I can't have them," she repeated. "I'm allergic."

"To strawberries?"

"No, to forks. Yes, strawberries!" She took another bite then. "I've been allergic my entire life to them."

Arnold grabbed another fork and began to eat the berries Helga pushed away. "I never thought you would be."

"Why do you say that?"

He looked down at his hands. "No reason."

"There has to be a reason."

"There isn't."

"I don't believe you."

"Well believe it."

"You can't make me do anything."

"Obviously."

Helga put down her fork. "Is this the only reason you're here? To exchange your charger and bring me cake? If I would have known this I would have exchanged it the first time."

"What?"

"What?" Helga repeated.

"What do you mean?"

"Mean about what?"

"About the exchange."

"The charger exchange?"

"Yes."

"What about it?"

"You said the first time."

"Yes."

"Well what do you mean about that?"

"That I should have exchanged the charger the first time you were here."

Arnold looked at her closely. "Your coworker said you were out those days."

"What?"

"That guy said you were out."

"I ugh..."

"You what?"

"I have nothing to explain to you, Football-Head!"

"Clearly, you do!"

"When did you become my mom?"

"When did you start avoiding me?"

"Just drop it."

"You know, I try to be nice to you, I really do. But you just make it so hard for me."

"I never asked you to be nice to me, I didn't ask anything from you." Helga took a giant fork full of icing.

Arnold put down his fork. "I know, I know. That doesn't mean I don't _want_ to be nice to you. All I've ever wanted was to finally be friends with you."

Helga dropped her fork."Newsflash! I don't want to be your friend." At that Helga began to walk to the backroom, as far away from Arnold as she could.

To her surprise Arnold held her arm tight enough for her to spring back to him. "We're not done here."

Helga stared back him in surprise, this was not the Arnold she remembered. "You know I have half a mind to call the cops? Let go."

"Just talk to me! What is up with you?"

"What's up with me? What's up with you? You don't just waltz in here, bring me cake and annoy the hell out of me. All I want to do is lock up and go home."

"You are something."

"Just let go. Go back to your little girlfriend. And leave me alone."

Suddenly Arnold released Helga's arm. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Does she know that?"

"I don't know. It just doesn't seem right yet."

Helga rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to kiss him right there and tell him she was the girl he was looking for, she couldn't. It took more energy than she thought to keep it to herself. "You are so incredibly stupid."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Just that. You are a stupid son of-"

"Well what do you want me to do? Everything I say to you is an offense. What do you want from me?"

"I want absolutely nothing from you. Get out."

Arnold shook his head a bit. "Fine. I'll go." He began to walk out to the door, head down almost as if he was sad.

"Arnold," Helga called out.

Arnold stopped and turned his head to her with a subtle smile. "Yeah?"

"Door's locked. I'll let out the back."


	7. Chapter 7

**_It's finally here. If I told you how much homework I do for AP Lit you'd be just as frustrated as I am. This quarter I read The Turn of The Screw, Othello, Oliver Twist, Emma, Frankenstein, and now Oedipus. My life sucks. So please enjoy. (I'm on break so I'll be posting sooner). _**

_Chapter 7_

"Thanks." Arnold turned his head back to the floor and waited for Helga to step in front of him to take him out.

She did just that, only she held her head up high and her hopes down low. This was all her fault. She tried to blame this on other people: Arnold, Janet, Cecile, but it all came back to her.

Once they made it to the back door, Helga noticed it was locked with Bob's key. "Criminy," she muttered.

"Is everything okay?" Arnold asked.

"I'm gonna have to unlock the front door. This one's locked."

Helga took a quick jog back to the front door. Alec had locked the place up and now the alarm system was activated. On the tiny screen next to the master lock Helga punched in the pass code: 100025569.

"Access denied," the annoying voice barked at her.

"No," Helga rolled her eyes and tried again: 100022559.

"Access denied."

Helga began to panic now, punching in random combinations in hope of it opening. The first thing Bob told her, and the first thing she does. Again she tried to open it, but there was no use. They were locked in.

"What wrong?" Arnold asked.

"Nothing!" Just then Helga felt Arnold's warm palm on her shoulder. "We're stuck."

"What?"

"We're stuck in here! I don't know the stupid password."

"Can't you call anyone to open the door?"

Helga walked back over to her counter. Right next to her book was her cellphone. She quickly dialed her father's number. At the third ring his voicemail came on. "This is Bob Pataki. Leave a message."

Helga sighed. "Hey Dad, it's Helga. Look I ugh. Never mind."

"Why didn't you leave a message?" Arnold asked.

"Because he's going to kill me if he finds out I forgot the code." And right then, the lights went completely out. "Criminy!"

"What just happened?"

"Automatic lights go out once the place gets locked up. I can't turn them on."

Arnold pulled out his cellphone to light their way to the chairs. Once they sat down next to each other Helga felt the urge to just burst into tears. "This isn't so bad Helga."

"Why do you have to do that?" Helga asked at the blurry image in front of her.

"What?"

"That! Why do you always have to be so optimistic about everything? We are stuck in this store for who knows how long, and there you go trying to see the bright side in everything."

"If I don't do it, who will?"

"How about we just stay silent for the rest of the unfortunate minutes we spend together?"

Arnold chuckled. "What ever you say, Helga."

"That's right, what ever I say."

They sat in silence for a while, awkwardly glancing at each other from time to time. Helga tried her best to stay mad at Arnold, but it was too hard for her. In the darkness, only a single patch of light hit his face, making him look mysteriously good looking. She held it in, this was not the time or place to be thinking about her love for Arnold.

In a few minutes her phone began to ring. On the screen Phoebe's name popped up. Helga quickly clicked the green button. "Hello?" Helga didn't hear a response from Phoebe, just some mumbling on the other side. She must have dialed by mistake. "Criminy."

"I like your ringtone."

Helga looked over to Arnold, where she could subtly see him smile. "Yeah?"

"She is the sunlight?"

"Right."

"It's nice."

"I suppose so. I've had it for years."

"Mind sending it to me?"

"Whatever floats your boat."

He smiled again. "See, you and Janet have more in common than you think."

Helga shook her head. "Just shut up before I really get mad."

"What did I do?"

"And you're still asking! Just shut your face."

Arnold looked down at the floor then in silence. Soon he began to hum the lyrics of the song. Eventually he sang. "She lives in a day dream, that I don't belong. She is the sunlight, the sun is gone."

"Just stop it. Please."

"Why are you so angry?"

She shook her head. "I wish you knew."

"Explain."

"Just...Do you really think Janet is the girl for you?"

"Since when do you care?"

"I don't."

"Then why ask?"

"I just want to know."

He took a moment to reply with a sigh. "I don't know. I have all the proof I need, but I guess it still doesn't feel right. It's like, it doesn't feel like it's her. I always thought that if Cecile was in front of me, I would know."

"Obviously not."

"What do you know?"

"Far more than you think."

"Care to share?"

"Not particularly."

"Well," he said as he reacher over to his bag. "Care to finish up this cake while we wait?" He took out the cake again and handed Helga her fork.

Helga took it again and picked at it around the strawberries. She didn't know exactly how long she would be waiting with him, but for now eating was a better thing to do than fighting. She didn't want to fight with him, but being mean to Arnold was like an addiction to her. She looked at him eating, even while he chewed he looked stunning. Arnold always had a way of looking like the only boy in the world.

"What are you looking at?" Arnold asked, breaking that trance Helga was on.

"Your ugly face, Football-Head."

"I should have seen that coming."

"Yeah, you should have."

"Does it kill you to say something nice to me for once?"

"No, something nice to me for once."

He gazed at her, trying to look angry, but soon fell into a fit of chuckling. With him, Helga began to laugh. They held each other's gaze as they laughed, as much as Helga wanted to, she just couldn't look away. As she looked into his eyes, she remembered that night years ago when she met Arnold as Cecile. Right then, it was as if she was wearing her Cecile disguise, she could feel herself being more comfortable around Arnold by the second. It was weird, it was like she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. "You have pretty eyes."

"What?" Arnold asked in surprise.

"You have pretty eyes. I'm being nice to you."

He smiled. "Thanks." He stared at her again, still smiling. "You know you look really beautiful when you smile."

Helga's jaw dropped slightly, she took in a breath, and closed her eyes for a second. From the outside she could heard soft patting of rain on the sidewalk. It must have just started when they were inside. She looked back over at Arnold, he was still smiling at her. "Why did you just call me that?"

"Call you what?" He asked.

"Beautiful."

"Because you are. I'm not going to lie just because we don't get along half the time."

Helga stood up from her seat and headed toward the back room. "I'm sorry, I need to step out for a second." Helga hurried out to that back. It was colder than she remembered, but felt none of it. She found a corner over by the lockers and sat down. Her head felt like ti was spinning. Arnold had just called her beautiful and all she wanted to do was cry. It was strange feeling that she couldn't explain, she was happy but she was torn. She felt a hot tear run down her cheek, it sicked her that she was doing this.

In a couple of minutes Arnold was standing in front of her. "Helga? What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Are you crying."

"No, I'm fine."

"Helga, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong, I am fine."

He looked at her closer. "You are crying. Why are you crying? Did I say something to offend you? Its seems like I do that a lot."

"Please, I'm fine."

Arnold walked over to her, standing only a few steps away from her. "You _are_ crying. Helga, if I said anything, I am so sorry. Please don't cry."

Helga looked up at him, his hand was extended out to her. She took it, and he helped her up. Helga was almost up when she suddenly tripped on her own feet. Arnold caught her in his arms. Helga brought herself up again, this time she was inches away from him. She brought her eyes up to him and noticed the gentle curve of his lips in front of him.

Arnold looked down to see Helga bringing herself up to him. She was closer now, the tip on her nose, so close to his chin. She looked beautiful, even after she had cried. Arnold felt something he couldn't really explain, an urge of some sort. She was closer to him now, so close that her rosy lips brushed his as she stood up. But as they brushed on his, Arnold's lips took hold of Helga's. Arnold brought his hand to Helga's silky blonde hair, and pulled her closer. They closed their eyes letting their body take over them. Arnold kissed her gently, but Helga wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him more passionately. They were even closer now: legs, stomachs, chests, and shoulders together. Yet that wasn't close enough for them. Arnold felt Helga's hands come down to his back, where her soft fingers brushed his tingling skin. She made her way back up his back, caressing his skin. They both reached over to the hem of his shirt and together, pulled it over his head. They took that time to catch some air, but Helga quickly pulled Arnold back to him, and he began to kiss her again. Arnold kept kissing her, even when it felt so wrong. This was Helga Pataki, she hated him, but here she was kissing him like none of that was true. He thought of janet for a moment, how they had something going on, but couldn't care less about it. It was true, kissing Helga was wrong, but it just felt so right. The way their lips moved together, like they were meant to be together.

Suddenly they jumped from the sound of thunder in the distance. Arnold looked at Helga, ready to hold her in his arms again, but she backed away in horror.

"What are you doing?" she asked in disgust. "What am I doing? What are we doing? This isn't happening. You're, you're suppose to be with Janet."

"You were the one that said Janet's not for me. I'm sorry if I offended you, but you got to admit you kissed me back."

"Don't ever repeat that in your life. That was nothing, just forget about it."

"You can't just forget something like that. You can't tell me you're going to forget this."

"I can tell you anything I want. This never happened." Helga headed out to the door, but half way there Arnold stopped her.

"So you're telling you didn't feel anything by that? Anything at all?"

Helga stopped, turned to look at him and said nothing. She just felt as if she was holding back more tears. "I'm out of here." She ran off then, and Arnold followed after her.

She was at the main door, trying to unlock it. The voice kept telling her the password was incorrect, but every time Helga tried over and over again.

"100222659," Helga mumbled, and again she was denied. "100025569."

"Access denied."

Helga grunted. "Let me out of here! Let me out! 100025560."

"Access denied."

As Helga continued to mumble the numbers, Arnold felt like he had heard them before. That patterns was more and more familiar. He ran back to the back room where he had left his shirt. He picked it up and ran back to Helga. Inside his shirt pocket he found a folded piece of paper that he had found in his room the night of his party. He opened it and looked at the number inside, and said, "100022569."

And the machine answered, "Access granted."

Helga looked at him in surprise. Arnold stated at her back, thinking that the only way he could have this number, was if Helga was in his room that night.

"So you're the real Cecile?" Arnold asked.

"What's it to you?"


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm alive! Let me tell you what I've been up to the past few months: play, musical, college applications, scholarship applications, ap homework, and writer's block. Enjoy. **

_Chapter 8_

"You are Cecile, it all makes sense now, the strawberries, the ringtone, the access code. It's you."

Helga looked at him in the eyes, not knowing what to say to him. The secret was finally out, and it was terrible. "Are you mad?"

Arnold's jaw dropped. "Am I mad? Am I mad? What kind of question is that?"

"Okay yeah, whatever I'm faux Cecile."

"Whatever? Helga!"

Helga squinted. "What?"

"You can't just pretend like nothing happened. You just told me you're the girl of my dreams and now you're acting like a royal pain."

"Nice use of words."

Arnold looked at her, without any sort of expression. It was as if he wanted to talk, but couldn't. "I need- I need some time to think." He opened the door then and ran out to the pouring rain.

Helga followed after him, feeling the cold of the raindrops on her face. "Go on, run off to Gerald, or your Grandpa! See if I care! I never cared about you anyway!"

At that, Arnold stopped instantly. He turned to her, squinting in order to see her. "Do you honestly think I don't care about you?"

"You were so excited to find your Cecile, and now that you found her, you run off. Why did you think I never told you? Not because I wanted you to suffer, I just knew I'm not good enough for you."

Arnold came closer to her, bringing his hand to grasp Helga's chin. He slowly brought her lips to his and kissed her gently. Helga felt the cool taste of his mouth and rainwater. Helga adored the feel of Arnold's mouth moving with hers, but this was not the answer she wanted from him. She pulled away from him then, gathering the rest of the dignity she had.

"Do you think you can just kiss me and make everything okay? I'm not your little toy, you can just pick up when ever you want to make out, Arnoldo."

Arnold looked at her. "You don't even understand what this means to me. I've kept your stupid red shoe in a box in my closet for nine years! I've been looking for you like crazy."

"Crazy enough that you settled for Janet Buttermore!"

"Stop it, Helga!"

"No, I won't stop. I've had a crush on you since I was three years old, that is almost my entire life! I've waited for you night and day, begging for you to see me the same way I see you, and now you say you need time to think. What kind of crap is that? You can't just kiss me and run off just because you're disappointed your dream girl is Helga G Pataki!"

"I kissed you way before I knew you were Cecile! You were the one that ran off then. You said you waited so many years, was I not good enough for you?"

Helga looked him up and down in disgust from what he said. She went up to him, kissed him roughly, and stood back. "There's one for the road. Have a nice life." And without going to get her stuff in the store, locked up and ran home.

* * *

After about ten minutes, Arnold realized Helga wasn't coming back. He had watched her go, feeling a part of him go with her. He still felt the taste of her lips on his mouth, and treasured every bit of it. He was still confused as to what had happened. He kissed Helga before he knew she was Cecile, and it truly felt addicting. What he wondered was why he had done it. It was as if her lips had a magnetic pull to his, and once they were close enough he was under her spell. Now he knew she was Cecile, the girl he was searching for, but it wasn't cecile he wanted. Sure he thought of her nonstop, but he had a horrible attraction to Helga Pataki even more.

When he arrived home, he went straight to the shower and just stood there. The running water only had him thinking of Helga even more. He wished he could have told her that he didn't want Cecile, he wanted her. Helga would never listen to him, that was just the way she was.

And he loved that about her. And it killed him that he could be attracted to someone that would never open up to him. Maybe it was his fault, maybe it was just the way he said things to her. It was Helga, she didn't really act like other people do. He liked that she was different, but still he wished she could open up to him. Kissing him today was a huge step for her, maybe too big. At this point, Helga couldn't take that back, and couldn't make Arnold believe she didn't mean all that she said. He didn't know what to do now, how it would all go down at school.

* * *

Helga walked into school; terrified of what would come. By now, everyone must know about her and Arnold, how she practically threw herself at him. Helga hadn't mentioned any of it to anyone, not even to Phoebe. Now, she didn't know how to avoid Arnold. She thought of skipping, but she couldn't afford to miss school any longer. Instead she walked into her government class with her head held high, and her pride sunken low.

Phoebe was already at her seat, smiling. If only she knew Helga was dead inside. "Why hello, Helga, nice day today."

"What's nice about it," Helga moaned as she sat in her seat.

"Is everything alright?"

Helga shook her head, but said nothing else.

Phoebe looked at her as if waiting for a response, but Helga wouldn't say anything else. She spoke again, "do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she whispered. She really did want to talk to someone about it, but she was so fearful that someone else would hear her. It was so humiliating to think of what she had done. She wished she could take all of that back, but now she had to live with that horrible memory in her head. "I'll talk to you about it later."

* * *

Arnold approached Janet's locker that morning, feeling sluggish and terrible. She was smiling, waiting for him. As he looked at her now he felt sick to his stomach, she had lied to him, played him like a violin. And there she was, with a smile on her face as if nothing happened.

"Hello Arnold," Janet said.

"Why did you tell me you were Cecile?" He ordered.

"Because I was."

"No you weren't, stop lying."

Janet stopped, and simply looked at him. Arnold didn't say anything else, he just waited. "Helga got to you didn't she?" Janet closed her locker then and began to walk off to class.

"We're not done yet!" Arnold ran after her. "Why did you lie to me? Did you even like me?"

Janet continued to walk. "Not really, but it was still fun."

"Fun? Playing around with my feeling was fun?"

"Oh cry me a river, Arnold."

They approached Janet's class then. The room was almost full, but Janet stopped right at the door. She smiled, "thanks for walking me to class, Arnold," she said in a louder tone than she had before.

* * *

And before Helga could even blink, they were kissing. Janet Buttermore and Arnold were kissing right in front of her. She couldn't handle it, her eyes were heavy with tears and she just couldn't get rid of them. She stood up and walked out of the classroom as quickly as she could. When she reached the door, she began to ran. She could hear Phoebe running behind her, calling her name, but Helga ran even quicker. Janet Buttermore, was kissing the same lips Helga had kissed. She had won.

Once the bell rang, Helga made to the back stairwell she liked to sit in. She found a corner, and began to sob. She always tried to picture Arnold with a girlfriend, when they were freshmen, he almost went out with a girl, but it didn't work out. Now that she witnessed Janet's tongue in his mouth, she wanted to disappear. Helga had loved Arnold since she was a little girl, she always imagined him being with no one but her.

* * *

Arnold pulled away form Janet quickly. He wiped his mouth with him sleeve, he was furious. "What is wrong with you?"

Janet smiled bitterly, "just putting on a show."

Arnold was confused, everything Janet said lately was sly. He heard a cry from behind him. He looked and saw Phoebe running down the hallway. He didn't know what was going on with her, what ever it was, she should be fine.

"You are sick."

"You have no idea."

* * *

Phoebe eventually found Helga crying in the staircase. Helga's face felt so puffy, and red, that she was embarrassed to have Phoebe see her this way. "Helga, are you okay?"

Helga wiped the tear off, "I'm fine."

"Helga."

Helga began to cry again. "What?"

Phoebe came over to her, sat next to her, and held her close. "It's okay not to be okay."

And with that, Helga burst into tears once more. "He was kissing Janet, Pheebs. It's like...my worst nightmare came true."

"Just let it out."

"He kissed _me_ yesterday, now he just goes off and kisses Janet in front of me."

"He kissed you?"

Helga nodded. "I kissed him at the store, but he kissed me back, and he kissed me again. I told him everything."

"Everything?"

She swallowed. "Everything."

"How did he take it?"

Helga tried to compose herself, it wasn't working very well, but she managed to say, "bad."

"How bad?"

"Well not too bad, disappointed would be a better word to use."

"Why is that?"

"Because I didn't tell him." It was then that Helga's sadness became anger. When she realized that this was all on Arnold. "Can you believe that? He wanted me to just tell him about it. Hello! That's the point of a secret, you don't tell anybody."

"He was probably just surprised. You have to give him a shot. He was confused on the situation."

"It doesn't matter. I'm done."

Helga rose from the floor, and Phoebe followed after her, worried and shocked at the same time. "As in, completely done?"

"Phoebe, I am done with Arnold, for good."


	9. Chapter 9

I'm alive! Enjoy the last chapter

_Chapter 9_

Trying to stop thinking about Arnold was much harder than Helga expected, any little thing reminded her of him. But she had to give up on him, she had wasted to much of her life on him. For years, Helga had dedicated her love to him, and frankly, she hadn't had enough for herself. Now, she would give herself that time to love herself, even if it meant avoiding Arnold as much as possible.

But what exactly was Cinderella to do when she found out the prince didn't want her?

Nothing. What else could she do? She would just have to go back to work, back to the real world, and forget any of it had happened.

Helga sat behind the counter of the shop for a while, just looking at the people outside the window walk past. Today was a slow business day, but most of the employees were on the job. Helga didn't speak to any of them, and they were smart enough not to say anything to her. Helga was done being sad over Arnold, now she accepted the fact that they were never going to become anything.

Alec came by Helga, with a smile on his face eventually. To be honest, she didn't really want to talk to him, but Alec was too nice for Helga to turn away. Helga looked around the store again, to see if she would get Alec to do something else, but she realized that most of the employees were heading out. The only one left were her and Alec, the rest had gone out back.

"Hey," Alec said while coming behind the counter beside her.

"Hi," she responded.

"What's up?"

Helga stared out the window, pondering that same question. She didn't know what was up, after her world had fallen apart in front of her eyes, what was there to say? Out the window she noticed a few couples walking across the street, hand in hand. For a minute she imaged herself as one of those couples. She was herself happy, holding hands with a boy that would make her feel like a princess. Yet when she envisioned that prince, all she could see was Arnold.

"Stuff," she managed to respond.

Alec studied her a bit, took her hand from the table and just held it. "What's wrong?"

Helga looked down at her hand on top of his palm, then back up to Alec. He looked so concerned for her, in a way that Alec never did before. Helga didn't dare move her hand, she was frozen there, wondering why she was about to open up to Alec, of all people. "Everything."

"What do you mean?" After a moment of not responding, Alec held her hand tighter. "It's Arnold isn't it?"

Helga nodded. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Alec looked down at her, slowly moving closer. "Maybe you just need to move on."

"Maybe."

"Maybe, you just need to go with it."

* * *

Arnold briskly walked down the street to, "Big Bob's Cellphone Emporium". He hadn't seen Helga at school at all that day, and he was worried about her. He knew it was probably a bad idea to go see her, after what had happened he other night, but at this point he had to make sure she was okay. It was crazy how Arnold was feeling about going to see Helga today, as soon as he thought of her, he just began to smile form ear to ear. He was going to see Helga, and even though she would probably yell at him again, just the thought of seeing her face brought butterflies to his stomach.

Arnold thought about that night again, how her lips had felt on his. It was weird, it felt so wrong and so right at the same time. He wondered if Bg Bob knew about what had happened, if he did, he would probably murder Arnold. He chuckled. Even if Bob killed Arnold for going to see Helga, it would be completely worth it. Helga was worth a lot of thing.

To be quite honest, Helga had always been worth the world to Arnold, even if he was never brave enough to say it. When they were younger, Arnold couldn't see it, but the reason he tried so hard to please Helga, was because he knew there was something special about. He never really thought that what was special was that he liked her liked her, he had just thought that maybe if she was nicer, they could be friends. Now, he wanted something more than friendship, as much as he would content being friends with Helga, he wanted to reenact that night over and over again (minus the yelling of course). He just hoped that after everything that happened, Helga would still want to be with Arnold. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't, who would have known she loved him since they were toddlers.

Arnold hoped for the best when he approached the store window. However, he wanted this to be special for Helga. Arnold was going to confess his feelings toward Helga. After hours of contemplating what he wanted from her, he finally came to the conclusion that he wanted to love Helga the same way she loved him.

Arnold stopped before he could open the door. Through the glass of the door, he could see two figures embraced in a warm kiss. When he looked closer his jaw dropped form the utter disgust, and quickly ran off.

* * *

Helga pulled away from Alec forcefully. "What the hell was that?"

Alec looked confused, as if he thought Helga would enjoy it. "I'm sorry?"

"You better be pal!" Helga cleaned her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt. "If you ever do that again, you better start looking for a new job."

"Look, I was under the impression that you felt something towards me."

Helga rolled her eyes. "I've been mopping around about Arnold, and you honestly think I would want anything to do with anyone? Get lost Alec!"

Before Alec could even move, Helga was racing out the front door. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but her feet seemed to take her where ever they wanted. Everything was taking a downward spiral. Why would Alec do that to her? All she wanted was a friend, she didn't need him sticking his tongue in her mouth to make her feel better. It occurred to her that boys seem to think that kissing her made everything better, when really it just made her more angry.

About twenty minutes later Helga was surprised to find herself standing in the alley of Arnold's boarding house. She hadn't been here in a while, and now it felt like she was a child again. Only this time she didn't want to go to his window. Helga just looked at his opened window wondering how her Arnold was doing. She was still mad, he was with Janet now, but she still wondered about him. Through the window she could faintly see Arnold pacing around his room, with his hands on the back of his neck. Then, he came closer to the window. Helga hid behind a near by garbage can and watched as he looked out the window. He look angry, but Helga had no idea why. She took another step back, but hit the trash can, that made a loud noise. Arnold jumped in his place. Helga gasped.

"Who's there?" Arnold asked in her direction.

She held her breath

"Who's there?"

Helga bit her bottom lip tightly just wishing Arnold would let it go. He didn't. Arnold was climbing out of his window on the the fire escape. He quickly climbed down the ladder and walked toward the garbage can. Helga closed her eyes as she felt him move closer to her. She wasn't ready to talk to him, she just wanted to be alone.

"What do you want?" Arnold's voice rang in her ears.

She looked up to him, saw him angry and wanting an explanation. "Nothing."

"So you're just hiding in the trash?"

Helga stood up quickly. "Yeah, don't flatter yourself, it's a free country."

They were face to face, neither of them saying anything for a while.

"Do you have anything to say?" Arnold asked.

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

Helga frowned. "Because I can. I don't need your permission to stand next to a trash can."

He rolled his eyes then in a way that Helga had never seen. "Whatever, do whatever you want Helga. Just leave, please."

Helga looked at him closer, the boy was seriously mad. It couldn't have been about the other night, she was suppose to be mad at him. But there was something in his eyes that read anger and rage even. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_?" Arnold looked furious now, as if Helga was the grain of sand that tipped the scale. "I poured my feeling out to you and you just go and..." He trailed off wondering what to say next.

Helga knew what she wanted to say, after all he was the one kissing Janet in class, the ultimate betrayal. "And what? Why don't you just go off and talk to Janet about it. I'm sure she'd much rather play tonsil hockey with you than I do."

"What are you even talking about? Besides you were the one sucking some kid's face."

Helga's mouth dropped in horror. "What? Are you talking about Alec?"

"Ha!" He pointed at her, "so you admit it?"

Helga slapped his hand out of the way. "That Alec is an idiot for trying to get with me, or that you're an idiot for thinking I would make out with someone after what you did to me?"

"What I did to you?"

"Oh please, I saw Janet's tongue jabbed in your mouth this morning." Before Helga knew it she slowly allowed hot tears run down her cheeks. "You know, I was accepting the fact that you will never love me the way I've loved you, but then I saw you with Janet and I realized how stupid I am. That night for a brief moment, I thought that maybe you would finally accept me for who I am. I was wrong. Now I know that a guy as fantastic as you could never love a girl as pathetic as me."

Arnold came in closer, reach his arms to her. "Helga, wait-"

"Forget it!" She shouted as she pushed him away. "I'm done talking to you. I'm done feeling this way for a boy I know will never feel the same way."

"Listen to me!" They were both silent for a moment, they looked each other in the eyes like they were seeing each other for the first time. "I didn't kiss Janet, she kissed me. I swear. I would never kiss her after what you said to me." He placed his fingers under her chin, drawing her eyes closer to his. "Helga I thought about this a lot, and I can't stop thinking about it. I just want you to give me a chance. We can start all over, as just friends." He pulled her closer to her, bringing his own head forward. "Or we could finish what we started."

Before Helga and Arnold knew it they were kissing, not the way it was in the shop, but a soft sweet kiss, that Helga would envision only in fairy tales. Helga pulled away after a while and looked him. "So what does this mean?"

He smiled. "I guess it means we're a couple now."

"If you ever call me, 'baby' I will personally dig your grave and push you in it."

"Whatever you say, Helga."


End file.
